Deputy Fire Chief Clarence Jefferson, a 33 year veteran of the Groton Fire Department, is one of a small group of Groton call firefighters who have been told that their appointments as firefighters will not be renewed by the town this year — effectively terminating their employment with the town and the fire department. After Jefferson received that notification on June 9, he submitted a resignation effective at the end of this month.

At least two more firefighters were told in emails on Tuesday, June 10, that their appointments would not be renewed.

In addition, long time firefighter James Horan resigned on June 5. Susan Hogan, the department’s talented and award-winning volunteer photographer and Horan’s wife, was told her services were no longer required by the department.

Town officials would not, or could not, confirm the number of firefighters either not reappointed or who have resigned over the last few weeks.

The resignations and cuts have hit the West Groton station, Station 2, hard. The staff cuts left Station 2 served by only two firefighters, but town officials said they quickly reassigned personnel from Station 1, the Central Station, and Station 3, Lost Lake, to provide coverage.

Bosselait said that the department added eight new firefighters, all of them currently with probationary status, this spring, and also recruited four new emergency medical technicians within the last month.

Fire Chief Joe Bosselait, in electing not to reappoint existing town employees to their positions, is using a tool that is usually used just once a year, each June. Town employees and all appointed board and commission members serve one year-terms synchronized to the town’s fiscal year — from July 1 to June 30. If an employee is not reappointed, they no longer work for the town.

There is a wrinkle related to that, though. It turns out that fire department employees have never been part of the annual reappointment cycle (See Fire Department Employee Reappointments Overlooked For Years). This is the first year in memory that they have been reappointed as employees, and the first time the reappointment process has been used to cut staff.

No town officials would comment officially on the reason for the staff cuts, citing personnel procedures and the possibility of pending lawsuits. Anonymous sources said that people who were not reappointed were cut because of information that surfaced during the investigation of a harassment complaint brought by an emergency medical technician against several fire department officers. The complaint was dismissed by the town as being without merit, but the outside investigator apparently uncovered other, unrelated, issues within the fire department that led to at least Jefferson and the two firefighters not being reappointed.

Rumors heralded in the news media that the department was trying to shed complainers and whistle blowers with concerns about the department’s operating procedures and command staff, were not true, multiple sources said.

An equal number of equally anonymous sources insisted that purging the call firefighting staff of people who disagreed with department policies before a new fire chief is appointed were, in fact, part of the town administration’s agenda.

Its already too late to fix. None of these people who were terminated or resigned would consider coming back to work with an entire department filled with people they can not trust or depend on to do the right thing. The department has been left with a total lack of character. People refuse to speak the truth because they know that they too will be fired. They refuse to stand up for one another out of fear. They have been indoctrinated into a “don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality, no matter the cost, and instead of standing up for those who would speak the truth, they actively conspire against them.

The town manager first coerced these people into meeting with him and the investigator, promising them anonymity, and then used the information they offered in good faith against them, to get rid of every person who spoke out against those who were behaving badly. To make it worse, they didn’t even have the balls to terminate anyone in person, and instead took the cowards way out by sending emails and letters.

So, yes, its too late. And they can “re-assign” all the personnel they want to St 2 – these people still have to drive across town to get there…

Feel free to send me your reference for this, Susan, but the way I read the charter/law is that people who are not reappointed are not required to receive anything. The clause about hearings seems to be for administrative dismissals that occur during the course of the year, between cycles.